^■illl!:;;; 

i 

1 

i 


^o\ 


CHICAGO 


S  T  ^  O  1^  0  P  I  €  i\  L 


SOCIETY 


J.  7',  SCA  MMON,  President. 


IV.  H.  WELLS,  V.-Pres^ldeiit, 
THOS.  HOTNE,  Secretary. 


Jieartorn    ©ftjserbatotj): 

Professor   TRUMAN    H.    SAFFORD,    Dirkctor 
ELI  AS  COLBERT^  Emeritus  Assistant  Director. 


About  eight  and  a  lialf  years  ago  a  few  prominent  citizens  of  Chicago 
formed  themselves  into  an  Astronomical  Society.  They  secured  what  was 
then  the  largest  refracting  telescope  in  the  world,  and  is  at  present  the 
largest  except  two, — only  one  of  which  is  superior  to  it, — and  engaged  Pro- 
fessor T  H.  Safford  to  take  charge.  The  cost  of  the  telescope,  the  erection 
of  the  observatory  buildings,  the  observing  apparatus,  the  smaller  (transit) 
telescope,  and  the  cuirent  expenses  of  the  observatory,  have  all  been  paid 
for,  since  then,  by  the  Society  or  its  individual  members,  without  a  single 
appeal  to  the  public,  till  a  few  months  ago;  when  a  small  subscription  was 
taken  up  to  aid  the  Society  in  furnishing  the  citizens  of  Chicago  with  the 
correct  time  from  the  Court  House. 


The  original  fund  was  raised  b)i.the  payment  of  $500  each  hy  a  few  gen- 
tlemen, who  were,  by  this  act,  constituted  Life  Directors  6f  the  Society; 
and  the  payment  of  $100  each  by  several  others,  who  thus  became  life 
members.  This  money  has  long  since  been  expended,  and  the  Executive 
Committee  has  no  power  to  call  on  these  members  for  more;  meanwhile 
there  is  a  pressing  need  of  funds,  not  only  to  pay  current  expenses,  but  to 
effect  repairs  and  extensions,  which  are  imperatively  required  for  the  prose- 
cution of  the  work  assumed  by  the  Society.  The  revolving  dome  is  out  of 
order,  and  can  only  be  turned  with  great  difficulty;  the  driving  apparatus  of 
the  great  equatorial  is  now  unusable;  a  smaller  instrument  is  an  indispens- 
able addition  if  a  systematic  search  for  comets  and  planetoids  is  to  be  under- 
taken; chronographic  apparatus  should  be  obtaihied  to  record  the  results  of 
observations  on  the  places  of  fixed  stars;  a!  se't  of  self- registering  meteor- 
ological instruments  ought  to  be  placed  in  the  observatory,  that  we  may 
obtain  a  knowledge  of  our  true  relation  to  atmospheric  cui-rents,  which  can 
never  be  gained  by  observations  made  a  few  times  each  day;  and  the  libra- 
ry is  sadly  deficient  in  reference  books  and  maps,  absolutely  indispensable  to 
efficient  work.  To  these  we  may  add  that  there  should  be  more  than  one 
astronomer  (most  observatories  have  several);  and  that  the  city  of  Chicago 
can  scarcely  afford  to  be  unrepresented  in  the  expeditions  now  preparing  to 
observe  the  next  transit  of  Venus  across  the  sun's  disc. 

All,  or  any  of  these  things,  require  money;  and  the  two  or  three  gentle- 
men to  whom  the  conduct  of  the  institution  has  been  tacitly  confided,  by 
the  absence  of  the  rest  from  active  co-operation,  feel  it  their  duty  to  appeal 
to  the  public  for  help.  The  present  burden  is  as  much  as  they  can  bear; 
they  must  have  aid  to  meet  increasing  responsibilities,  which  the  pi-ogress 
of  science,  and  the  gnawing  tooth  of  time,  render  imperative.  They  know 
the  object  to  be  eminently  worthy  of  a  liberal  support,  and  believe  that  the 
case  needs  only  to  be  understood  to  be  appreciated.  They  have,  therefore, 
no  hesitation  in  asking  our  men  of  means  to  help  the  cause  of  scientific 
investigation,  by  becoming  members,  or  by  donating  such  sums  as  they  may 
be  willing  to  spare  to  help  forward  the  car  of  science.  The  Society  should 
have  a  permanent  fund  of  not  less  than  $So,ooo  to  enable  it  to  do  the  work 
expected  of  it;  and  requires  not  much  less  than  $20,000  more  to  put  the 
observatory  into  good  working  condition — fit  to  take  its  place  by  the  side  of 
the  other  great  observatories  of  the  world,  in  which  so  many  important  dis- 
coveries have  been  made  within  the  past  few  years. 

The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  What  has  the  Chicago  (Dearborn)  Ob^ 
servatory  done   for  science?     It  may  be  answered  that  it  has  done  much 


more  than  is  usuall}'  supposed;  and  would  have  done  very  much  more  but  for 
the  fact  that  impecuniosity  has  been,  from  the  first,  a  terrible  drag  on  the 
wheels  of  its  progress.  Once  let  the  institution  be  placed  on  a  proper  working 
basis,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Chicago  will  take  the  same  leading 
place  in  astronomical  discovery  that  she  already  occupies  in  business  enter- 
prise and  as  a  commercial  centre.  To  suppose  it  possible  under  present 
conditions,  would  be  as  absurd  as  to  expect  a  Chicago  dealer  to  rival  the 
merchant  princes  of  the  East,  without  one  cent  of  capital  or  a  dollar's  worth 
of  credit. 

What  is  really  wanted  is  to  organize  a  live  association  in  this  city,  that 
will  not  only  furnish  the  means  required  to  carry  on  the  observatory,  but 
whose  members  will  lake  an  active  interest  therein,  and  meet  regularly  to 
see  what  is  being  done,  gather  information,  exchange  views,  learn  what 
they  do  not  know,  and  take  a  pride  in  seeing  that  what  they  do  know  on 
this  subject  is  communicated  to  others.  Such  an  association  would  be  a 
power  in  the  world  of  science,  and  we  hope  to  see  it  in  existence  at  no  dis 
tant  day. 

In  the  hope  that  their  appeal  will  meet  with  a  liberal  response,  the  Soci- 
ety has  delegated  to  Mr.  Colbert  the  task  of  calling  personally  upon  such 
of  our  citizens  as  he  may  be  able  to  reach.  Those  who  do  not  receive  a 
personal  call,  and  are  willing  to  help,  are  requested  to  communicate  with 
him,  at  the  Tribune  office,  or  with  any  of  the  officers  of  the  Socicly. 

Chicago,  May  22,  187 1. 


